Medicine
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Observational Study
Assessment of Arterial Stiffness, Volume, and Nutritional Status in Stable Renal Transplant Recipients.
Reduction of cardiovascular death might have a significant effect on the long-term survival rates of renal transplant recipients (RTRs). The aim of the study was to assess the relation between arterial stiffness and graft function, adipose tissue content, and hydration status in patients after kidney transplantation (KTx). The study included 83 RTR patients (mean age: 55 ± 13 years) who had been admitted to a nephrology-transplantation outpatient clinic 0.5 to 24 years after KTx. ⋯ Multivariable linear regression analysis, with PWV as a dependent variable, retained the following independent predictors in the final regression model: red blood cell distribution width (RDW) (B = 0.323; P = 0.004), age (B = 0.297; P = 0.005), tacrolimus therapy (B = -0.286; P = 0.004), and central DBP (B = 0.185; P = 0.041). Multivariable linear regression analysis with eGFR as a dependent variable retained the following independent predictors in the final regression model; creatinine concentration (B = -0.632; P = 0.000), hemoglobin (B = 0.280; P = 0.000), CRP (B = -0.172; P = 0.011), tacrolimus therapy (B = 0.142; P = 0.039), and triglycerides (B = -0.142; P = 0.035). Our data indicates that: kidney transplant recipients can present modifiable CVD risk factors linked to increased arterial stiffness, DBP, waist circumference, SCr, time on dialysis, CyA therapy, and visceral fat mass; RDW is a parameter associated with arterial stiffness; and parameters such as CyA therapy, time on dialysis, PWV, RDW, and triglycerides show negative associations with the allograft function assessed with eGFR.
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Patients with diabetes have a higher incidence of bladder cancer; however, the association between thiazolidinedione use and bladder cancer risk has been controversial. We aimed to investigate whether pioglitazone or rosiglitazone use is associated with bladder cancer risk in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This nationwide nested case-control study used data set obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort 2002 to 2013. ⋯ Neither pioglitazone use nor exclusive pioglitazone use were associated with an increased incidence of bladder cancer. Rosiglitazone use is associated with an increased risk of incident bladder cancer independent of age and sex in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The highest odds of bladder cancer in rosiglitazone users was seen in those with <1 year of exposure.
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Observational Study
Dopaminergic Therapy Modulates Cortical Perfusion in Parkinson Disease With and Without Dementia According to Arterial Spin Labeled Perfusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
Arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging analyses allow for the quantification of altered cerebral blood flow, and provide a novel means of examining the impact of dopaminergic treatments. The authors examined the cerebral perfusion differences among 17 Parkinson disease (PD) patients, 17 PD with dementia (PDD) patients, and 17 healthy controls and used ASL-MRI to assess the effects of dopaminergic therapies on perfusion in the patients. The authors demonstrated progressive widespread cortical hypoperfusion in PD and PDD and robust effects for the dopaminergic therapies. ⋯ These patterns of hypoperfusion could be related to cognitive dysfunctions and disease severity. Furthermore, desensitization to dopaminergic therapies in terms of cortical perfusion was found as the disease progressed, supporting the concept that long-term therapies are associated with the therapeutic window narrowing. The highly sensitive pharmaceutical response of ASL allows clinicians and researchers to easily and effectively quantify the absolute perfusion status, which might prove helpful for therapeutic planning.
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Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) is the most common corneal transplant procedure. A key step in the procedure is preparing the donor cornea for transplantation. This can be accomplished via 1 of 3 alternatives: surgeon cuts the cornea on the day of surgery, the cornea is precut ahead of time in an offsite facility by a trained technician, or a precut cornea is purchased from an eye bank. ⋯ Threshold analysis demonstrated that if the number of cases was below 31 a year, the strategy that yielded the lowest cost was purchasing precut cornea from eye bank. If there were more than 290 cases annually, the cheapest option would be to setup precutting facility. Our findings suggest that it is more efficient for centers that are performing a large number of cornea transplants (more than 290 cases) to set up their own facility to conduct precutting.
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Observational Study
Long-Term Exposure to Ozone and Life Expectancy in the United States, 2002 to 2008.
Long-term exposure to ground-level ozone is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. The association remains uncertain between long-term exposure to ozone and life expectancy. We assessed the associations between seasonal mean daily 8-hour maximum (8-hr max) ozone concentrations measured during the ozone monitoring seasons and life expectancy at birth in 3109 counties of the conterminous U. ⋯ A 5 ppb higher ozone concentration was associated with 0.25 year lower life expectancy in males (95% CI: -0.30 to -0.19) and 0.21 year in females (95% CI: -0.25 to -0.17). We identified 3 classes of counties with distinct mean levels and rates of change in ozone concentrations. Our findings suggest that long-term exposure to a higher ozone concentration may be associated with a lower life expectancy.